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Effects of high frequency spark plasma discharge as a time efficiency method in order to softening the natural hard water has been investigated experimentally. A very hard water sample with 331 ± 19 mg/l of CaCO hardness was used. The current and voltage of each spike was about 9.6 A and 3.5 kV respectively at 16 kHz frequency with 35 μs pulse width. Hard water was treated for 2, 4, 6, and 8 min. The concentration of CaCO, Ca ions, Mg ions and pH as well as water conductivity was controlled before and after treatment. The concentration of CaCO dropped by 70%, after 8 min treatment. During the treatment, the pH had a fluctuation about 1.5 and finally remained in neutral state. Also the elemental composition, crystalline structure and morphology of the precipitates were identified. Molecular dynamics simulation revealed that the ozone and hydroxyl play important roles in the softening of the hard water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile (PK) and embolization effect of 70-150-μm doxorubicin eluting beads (DEBs) following intra-arterial injection (i.a.) in the rabbit liver VX2 tumour model.Materials and Methods: In this ACUC-approved study, 25 white New Zealand rabbits were randomly assigned into a small DEB group (SDB, n = 7, 70-150-μm DEBs), large DEB group (LDB, n = 7, 100-300-μm DEBs), untreated controls (n = 7), and doxorubicin controls (n = 4, without tumour, received i.a. 12.5 mg doxorubicin). Plasma PK was assessed up to 180 min post-injection. Drug tissue and liver enzyme levels, radiologic tumor response and histopathologic tumour necrosis were assessed at 7 days.Results: Mean tumour doxorubicin concentrations were 922.83 nM (SD = 722.05) and 361.48 nM (SD = 473.23) for the SDB and LDB, respectively (p = 0.005). There was no statistically significant difference in tumour doxorubicinol, plasma doxorubicin and doxorubicinol PK values. More beads were observed in the SDB tumours (p = 0.01). Liver enzymes increased and gradually declined over the observation period, with significantly higher values in the SDB.Conclusion: In this preclinical study, plasma PK of i.a.-injected 70-150-μm DEBs was not different than that of 100-300-μm DEBs. More beads and higher tissue doxorubicin levels were observed in the SDB tumours.Key Points: • Small and large doxorubicin-eluting beads show similar plasma pharmacokinetic profiles. • Higher tissue doxorubicin levels were observed in the small bead group. • Liver enzymes were overall significantly higher in the small bead group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helicobacter pylori is the most important cause of gastritis and related morbidities. Following consumption, radioactive iodine accumulates considerably in the stomach. On the basis of this observation, we decided to determine whether the high radiation induced by radio-iodine in the stomach is effective in the eradication of this infection. All consecutive patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma, who were referred for radio-iodine therapy [dose 117.1 ± 24.4 mCi (4.3 ± 0.9 GBq), range 100–200 mCi (3.7–7.4 GBq)], were enrolled. To detect H. pylori infection, the urease breath test (UBT) was performed 1-2 h before radio-iodine consumption and the test was repeated 2 months later. Of 88 patients, 71 had pre-treatment positive UBT. Of these, 23 patients had negative post-treatment result, which means a significant reduction (26.1%, 95% CI 16.8–35.5%) in the number of positive UBT results in our treated population (32.4% of UBT-positive cases became UBT-negative). Considering the high prevalence of reinfection in developing countries, the therapeutic benefit would have been more considerable if the second UBT had been done with a lag time of less than 2 months. Although radio-iodine therapy is not a logical method for the treatment of patients suffering from H. pylori, our finding provides indirect evidence about the radiosensitivity of bacteria, the future clinical applications of which need to be further evaluated. Also this finding can be useful for the food industry, where radiation is used widely to sterilize food. Regarding the possibility of H. pylori suppression, we recommend not using UBT for screening for the infection for at least within 2 months following radio-iodine therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]